A Competitive Analysis of Dillard S Department Stores Research Paper

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Business of Dillard's, Inc.

With retail operations in more than half of the states, it is reasonable to suggest that most Americans are not only familiar with Dillard's, Inc. and its line of quality products, they have personally shopped there in the recent past. Founded 78 years ago, Dillard's has weathered economic downturns and changes in consumer preferences to emerge as a leading national retailer that enjoys a solid brand reputation for quality and customer service. To determine the facts about this company and its business operations, this paper provides the history and background of Dillard's, a brief history of the firm, a description of its product lines and business, a brief description of industry in which it operates and an analysis of its vision and mission statements. An evaluation of Dillard's core competency and the firm's strategy is followed by an assessment of the firm's overall strategy. In addition, an analysis concerning potential alternatives available to Dillard's for the future is followed by a discussion concerning its goals, objectives and grand strategies. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning Dillard's business operations are presented in the conclusion.

History and background

Today, Dillard's, Inc. (hereinafter alternatively "the company") is a leading national fashion apparel retailer (About Dillard's, 2016). The company's current sales revenues are more than $6.6 billion a year based on its operation of 274 retail facilities and 23 clearance centers in 29 states and its online store at www.dillards.com (Corporate profile, 2016).

History of the firm

Founded in 1938 by William Dillard (died in February 2002) with its first retail store in Nashville, Arkansas (Dillard's history, 2016), the company is currently headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas (Corporate profile, 2016). Shortly after its founding, the company expanded its operations to include Texarkana, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it opened its first retail mall outlet in 1964 (Dillard's history, 2016).

Product lines

Besides fashion apparel, the company also features home furnishings, cosmetics, and a wide range of other types of merchandise including exclusive and national brands (About Dillard's, 2016). According to the company's corporate profile, "The company's stores offer a selection of merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; accessories; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods. Its merchandise selections include brand merchandise, such as Antonio Melani, Gianni Bini, GB, Roundtree & Yorke, and Daniel Cremieux" (Corporate profile, 2016, para. 3). In addition, the company also offers other services including gift registries through its corporate Web site (Corporate profile, 2016). Beyond the foregoing, the company operates a general contracting construction company, Little Rock-based CDI Contractors (About Dillard's, Inc., 2016) that provides construction and remodeling support for the company's nationwide chain of retail stores (Corporate profile, 2016). In addition, the company also owns and operates Acumen Brands which provides online retailing such as scrubschopper.com for medical uniforms and countryoutfitter.com for Western wear that further boosts is online sales (About Dillard's, Inc., 2016).

Description of the business

The company is a leading national retailer of consumer and household products (Corporate profile, 2016).

Brief description of industry in which it operates

The company currently competes in the services sector in the department store industry with its major competitors being Kohl's Corporation, J. C. Penney Corporation, and Macy's (Corporate profile, 2016).

Vision and mission statements analysis:

The company does not maintain a vision statement, but its mission statement is highly congruent with its real-world business practices: "The Company focuses on delivering maximum fashion and value to its shoppers by offering compelling apparel and home selections complemented by exceptional customer care" (Dillard's mission statement, 2016, para. 3). The exceptional care offered by the company is reinforced through ongoing customer service training for Dillard's employees (Fields, 2009) and its focus on its core competencies as discussed further below.

Core competencies:

The company's core competencies relates to its ability to offer high-quality products lines, some of them exclusive to Dillard's, at the lowest prices possible in its niche market. For instance, according to one industry analyst, "Family-run retailer Dillard's has created substantial shareholder value over the past five years by sticking to its core competencies: offering branded and private-label merchandise at affordable prices, and limiting its operations to its Southern and Midwestern home base" (Hanley, 2013, para. 2). These core competencies have been supported by the company's strategy which is discussed below.

Firm's strategy:

Notwithstanding the company's nationwide operations, it has been the firm's strategy to consistently provide low pricing and high quality merchandise as part of the national Dillard's brand (Dillard's history, 2016).

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In this regard, the company reports that, "Today, a major part of Dillard's marketing philosophy remains based on Mr. Dillard's sound selling methods, keen attention of day-to-day organizational details, alert selection of personnel and hard work. Presently, the chain consists of approximately 300 stores spanning 29 states, all operating under one name - Dillard's" (Dillard's history, 2016, para. 4). The company has enjoyed several straight years of sustained growth, due in large part to increased sales in its women's accessories lines that represent about 15% of its annual sales (Hanley, 2013). In addition, Dillard's has also increased its sales revenues by offering private-label brands such as Roundtree & Yorke.and Antonio Melani (Hanley, 2013).

What is the firm's overall strategy? What key problems does it face in maintaining this strategy successfully?

It is noteworthy that the company has achieved its current level of success by using a different overall strategy than its competitors. For instance, Aufreiter and Karch (2009) report that:

The best merchandising organizations simplify their product complexity while offering enough of a selection to satisfy their target customers. High-performing department stores like Dillard's have taken the opposite route: by focusing primarily on branded merchandise, they have done away with the need for specialized product development skills. (p. 102)

Based on this overall strategy, the company has succeeded in stabilizing its pricing regimens to the point where it can offer high-quality merchandise at competitive prices (Aufreiter & Karch, 2009). To its credit, this overall strategy has paid major dividends for the company. In this regard, Aufreiter and Karch (2009) emphasize that, "Even in the traditional department store format, Dillard's has outperformed their competitors by more than 50%" (p. 102). In addition, the company has cobranded with American Express credit card company to improve its target marketing efforts. For example, Lindenmayer (2006) reports that, "The card will run on Amex's network but offer the same perks -- including reward points for purchases at the chain and advance notice of sales and other promotions -- as a private-label Dillard's card" (p. 7). .

It should also be noted, though, that the company has experienced challenges in maintaining its market leader position due to declining sales in some of its markets that has forced Dillard's to close some retail outlets and has limited expansion plans for the foreseeable future (Hanley, 2013).

What strategic alternatives are open to it? What role has top management played in directing the process? Have they been successful in doing so? Is there sufficient management depth? Are there processes in place to maintain the strategy?

Because the company remains family-owned, it is not surprising that Dillard's top management has also remained active in its operation. In this regard, Hanley (2013) notes that, "Dillard's runs a tight ship, which is not surprising given that members of the founding family are large shareholders and maintain management control. At roughly 26%, the company's spending on SG&A, or overhead, runs circles around similar ratios at both J.C. Penney and Macy's" (para. 5).

Although the company has been financially successful in its current markets, some industry analysts suggest that a saturation level has been reached and Dillard's must generate additional sales from its existing retail stores or identify opportunities to expand beyond its current base. For instance, Hanley emphasizes that, "Given its efficiency, though, the company's future profit growth will increasingly need to come from the top line, in the form of higher same-store sales or an expansion of its store base" (2016, para. 6).

Goals, objectives, and grand strategies:

The overarching goal of the company is to improve its competitiveness and increase sales in its existing retail stores (About Dillard's, Inc., 2016). In support of this overarching goal, the company's objectives include adding more fashions to its current lines, and providing specialty merchandise in smaller retail stores located in high-traffic open-air lifestyle centers as opposed to its previous focus on locating their operations in enclosed malls (About Dillards, Inc., 2016). The company's grand strategy remains focused on identifying optimal locations for its brick-and-mortar retail operations. In this regard, the company reports that, "One of the cornerstones of Dillard's philosophy is that location is the key to success" (History of Dillard's, 2016, para. 3).

Conclusion

The research showed that family-owned Dillard's, Inc. was founded in 1938 by William Dillard with its first retail store in Nashville, Arkansas. Since that time,.....

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